Tuesday morning: The sun is shining, it's 9 a.m. and I am walking my 4 minute walk to the subway station to go to work. It's fall, the leaves are bright, and I am modestly dressed in a long black toggle coat and full length pants. I also have my hair in a ponytail and minimal make-up (sorry Mom, I don't always "define my eyes"). See me smiling, see me walking by the butcher and the baker, and thinking to myself, "Where's the candlestick maker? Ha ha."
Suddenly, a nice-looking man, age approximately 35 approaches me. In German he asks if I know how to get to the main train station. Indeed I do! I cheerfully tell him to take a tram and then I turn and keep going. He yells for me to wait and asks me to repeat myself "Noch einmal, bitte." Of course I repeat myself, I'm from Minnesota. I smile and turn and hear him yell "wait" again. He asks if I am British, because of my accent. I say "nope, American." I walk and he yells again. This time, I'm annoyed but I stop and he asks me to walk with him, offering me his elbow. Now, about 3 minutes too late, I realize that this guy is potentially creepy, so I just say in a stern voice, "I have to go to work." I start walking really fast, not 100 feet from the U-Bahn when this guy runs behind me, grabs my arm, turns me around and says "You have to work. I'll give you 50 Euro." This proposition was accompanied by the man making a lewd gesture with his free hand, his mouth and his tongue. I pinwheeled my arm and just screamed "No!" without thinking. Luckily, two construction workers on the street ran over and pushed the guy away, and scared him off. The workers escorted me to the U-Bahn where I told a cop what happened. I can identify this man "Law and Order: SUV" style. He is 5'11, no more than 170 and he has dark hair. I gave all this information to the cop. I don't feel like the victim of a crime, per say, but I do feel like I would make an excellent witness.
I am not a suspicious person, and I certainly do not look like a fancy prostitute at 9 in the morning. I smile at strangers and like to help tourists read maps when I hear them speaking English. I even, much to the annoyance of E, strike up conversations with Mormons on the train. Even though this encounter was strange, and by all means scary, I haven't really changed my routine. Maybe I'm too trusting, but I think this guy knows not to come back to the neighborhood where such a fierce arm pinwheeler resides.
I'm probably being really naive.
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6 comments:
OH MY GOSH!!! I just tune into your blog after not reading it in way too long and read THIS?!
when are you moving to Ann Arbor? :)
Steph!
You better be careful! That is a scary story. Thank God for construction workers.
Steph, imagine what it was like for my sister Elise in France in 1959 -- and she was alone!
For those who think you should come back stateside -- it could happen in Ann Arbor only the creep would be speaking English!
Ross says "she turned down 50 euro? that's like 100 dollars. doesn't she know the exchange rate?"
creepy story! when can we get together in europe?
So if that is "scary urban experience #1" when does the sequel come out? I have been checking daily. Can you please become a "follower" of my blog...I feel like I don't have enough virtual friends. thanks.
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